The present invention relates to articles of clothing in general, and more particularly to articles of thermal clothing.
During winter activities, snow can sometimes find its way into the gap between the end of a coat sleeve and a glove. This snow may thereafter migrate up the coat sleeve and/or down into the glove. The presence of this cold snow against the underlying skin can cause a person substantial discomfort and, in some cases, may actually lead to serious injury, e.g. frostbite.
Moreover, during some winter activities, exaggerated arm movements may sometimes occur. These exaggerated arm movements can widen the gap between the end of the coat sleeve and the glove, thereby exposing the underlying skin directly to the cold. Again, this can cause a person significant discomfort, and may possibly even lead to serious injury.
A number of attempts have been made to cover the underlying area at the gap between the end of a coat sleeve and a glove.
For example, mittens have been lengthened so that they can extend back over the coat sleeve, up to the forearm area. This helps prevent snow and/or cold air from finding its way down to the underlying skin. Unfortunately, these elongated mittens tend to be relatively large and cumbersome and may catch against nearby objects, e.g. a piece of machinery.
Another approach has been to use a special mitten liner. This special mitten liner consists of an ordinary knee-high cotton sock which has had a hole formed in the side of the sock, near its closed toe. This liner is worn over the hand and under the mitten, with the person""s thumb extending out the side hole of the sock and the remaining four fingers being received in and covered by the toe of the sock. Unfortunately, since this mitten liner restricts four of the fingers to a single pocket, it cannot be used with a fingered glove. Furthermore, even when the mitten liner is used with a mitten, the presence of an additional layer of material between four of the fingers and the mitten tends to seriously diminish the wearer""s ability to grasp and manipulate objects.
Also known are anatomically contoured physical therapy devices such as the one taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,418, issued Oct. 9, 1990, to Mark McLaurin-Smith. Such therapeutic devices are often designed to fit over the wrist area of a patient. Unfortunately, these known devices provide significant therapeutic compression and support to the wearer""s injured wrist area and, in the case of the McLaurin-Smith device, also provide significant skin surface stimulation to the wearer. Thus, such physical therapy garments are generally unsuitable for winter activities that are undertaken by uninjured persons.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a novel article of thermal clothing for covering the underlying area at the gap between the end of a coat sleeve and a glove.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel article of thermal clothing for bridging the gap between the end of a coat sleeve and a glove.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel article of thermal clothing which, when worn, does not cover the fingers so as to prevent their reception within the corresponding digits of a fingered glove.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel article of thermal clothing which, when worn, does not cover the fingers so as to diminish the wearer""s ability to grasp and manipulate objects.
And another object of the present invention is to provide a novel article of thermal clothing which can be comfortably and conveniently worn under a coat sleeve and a glove so as to protect the area therebetween.
And still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for covering the underlying area at the gap between the end of a coat sleeve and a glove. cl SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a novel article of thermal clothing which generally comprises a tube having a distal portion terminating in a distal end, a proximal portion terminating in a proximal end, and a side opening formed in the distal portion adjacent to but spaced from the distal end. The tube is formed out of a flexible, somewhat stretchable material capable of providing good thermal insulation. Preferably this material is also water resistant.
In one preferred embodiment, the tube is formed out of a fabric which retains a memory of the shape of a wearer""s hand and forearm so that, after repeated wearings by the user, the tube tends to be form fitting to that user.
The tube is sized so that it can be snugly fit over the wearer""s hand and forearm, with the distal end of the tube being positioned near the midpalm area and the proximal end of the tube being positioned at the forearm area, and with the wearer""s thumb extending out through the tube""s side opening. When the tube is in this position, the wearer""s thumb and fingers will remain completely free and unrestrained. The article of clothing is worn under a glove and the sleeve of a coat so as to bridge the gap therebetween and thereby prevent exposure of the underlying skin to snow and cold air. This article of clothing could also be worn alone.